Emily the Fisherwoman
by AaronCottrell97
Summary: Lots of engines over the years have pulled the "Flying Kipper" when Henry isn't available, and now the time has finally come for Emily to take the infamous train for the first time. Can she do with it without any mishaps, or will she be yet another victim of the Kipper's legacy?


Every night by the sea on the Island of Sodor, there are sounds and signs of life. The sound of rolling waves far out on the ocean, the crying of seagulls, and sometimes, the call of whales. But the sea is also full of fish. Salmon, tuna and pike. But the most common kind the Sudrians fish for to deliver to shops in the town are kippers, which are sent across the island on the Flying Kipper, commonly pulled by Henry.

But one late afternoon, Henry had been called to bring an important train to the mainland. He would not be back until the next morning. As such, the Fat Controller had to make other arrangements for the Flying Kipper.

That same evening at Tidmouth Sheds, the other engines were settling in as the sun began to set. Thomas and Emily exchanged a smile to each other when the Fat Controller suddenly came by to inform them about Henry.

"I need another engine to pull the Flying Kipper tonight," said the Fat Controller. "Henry is busy on the mainland with his own train and won't be back until later tonight. I remember Thomas and James both had some mishaps with fish, and I don't need Gordon complaining about a 'smelly fish train.' And of course, Percy will be busy with the mail..."

"I wish I could take the Flying Kipper…if I weren't so old for such a train," said Edward. "What about Emily, sir? She's never taken the Flying Kipper before."

The Fat Controller turned to Emily. He could see she was already thinking heavily about what Edward said. She never did Henry's job. And she was well aware of the history with that train.

When Henry first took that train while he was under the care of Welsh Coal, he crashed into a goods train and got sent to Crewe to be reshaped with pressure chambers and a bigger firebox. Then when Duck had to help Henry up Gordon's Hill, the tail lamp fell off and Duck crashed into the old vans. After that, Henry ignored Thomas' warning of track being swallowed by high tides, and as a result slithered into the sea. Then James had to take it twice. Once after he tricked Henry into taking the train late and got covered in fish, then another time when Gator scared him into derailing on the Fenland. Then Thomas took it, getting covered in fish too, and then James took it once more with Rosie, getting derailed, fishy and muddy all at once. It seemed like this train was very prone to accidents.

"Emily? Are you alright?" asked the Fat Controller.

"Oh. I was just thinking, sir," she said. "I'm definitely nervous with that train's past examples…but if I'm careful, I'm sure I can do alright."

"Very well, Emily. You shall pull the Flying Kipper tonight," said the Fat Controller. "Be sure you're at the docks by 9:00 p.m. tonight. You'll be doing a two-hour run."

"Yes sir," said Emily. After the Fat Controller left, Thomas looked at Emily.

"Are you sure you want to take the Flying Kipper, Emily?" he asked. "I'm not worried about accidents…but it is a fishy job. I know you don't like the smell of fish."

"It's just fish, Thomas," said Emily. "It smells as it does. It might even be fun to take Henry's train. For now, I should relax and conserve my strength for tonight."

"Of course, Emily. You're surely do well," assured Edward. And so, Emily spent the next little while, idling with the other engines, talking and laughing with them until the time would come when she would take the Flying Kipper for the first time.

Eventually, around 8:20 p.m., Percy had already left to take the mail when Emily's driver and fireman came by. "Come on, Emily. We've got to take the Flying Kipper now."

As her fireman started her fire, Emily sighed to herself. "This is it," she said.

"Good luck, Emily," smiled Thomas.

"Thank you, Tommy," said Emily as she set off into the night.

On her way to the docks, Emily began wondering what would happen that night. If no accidents happened, what would happen? Time would only tell. As scheduled by the Fat Controller, Emily was ready at 9:00 p.m. as she arrived at Brendam Docks. Porter, Salty and Cranky were all waiting for her.

"Good evening, Emily," greeted Porter.

"Ahoy, dear fisherwoman!" chimed Salty.

"Fisherwoman?" said Emily, not expecting to hear that.

"This here Flying Kipper was always managed by fishermen like Henry and James, and Gordon and Thomas on their own occasion," said Salty. "Now, it looks like we have a fisherwoman to take it along the island."

"Hmm…thanks, Salty," said Emily. "It is my first time ever taking the Flying Kipper."

At that moment, Cranky began unloading the cargo ship docked beside him. He loaded several crates of fish down to the wagons where workmen hauled them into Emily's trucks. Emily began to notice the smell of fish in the air, but she didn't mind it too much. She began to accept it as it was and decided to get used to it. At 9:20, the guard showed a green lamp and Emily was ready to go.

"Alright, time to take the Flying Kipper," she said as she set off with her train, making sure she was careful along the way. The first thing that happened was that the smell of fish was being carried everywhere Emily went. Every time she breathed in through her nose, she caught a whiff of fish oil, making her turn up her nose a little. But after several minutes, she began to get used to it.

"Hmm…it's not too terrible," she said to herself. "Nothing has happened, and the smell isn't so awful after a while."

Suddenly, Emily saw Percy huffing along the other line with the mail train. Percy saw Emily, but then noticed the smell.

"Phew! The Flying Kipper really is a fishy train, Emily," he peeped as Emily passed by.

"I'm alright, Percy. See you in the morning," she replied. Emily soon reached the first station where some of the crates of fish were unloaded. To Emily, the Flying Kipper seemed like a simple train. Just delivering fish at each station until the deliveries were finished.

 _"I can do this,"_ she thought to herself. Before long she set off again to deliver more fish. As she huffed on through the night, she made sure she was careful and paid close attention to all the signals and the track ahead of her, and she was happy to stop at stations and lighten her load a little whenever she had to. Emily really enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere around her. The moon was full and bright and the sky was filled with stars. Everywhere she went, she could hear chirping crickets and sometimes the hoot of an owl.

After several deliveries over a long time, Emily made her way to the last station, where the last of her fish was unloaded. The time was now 11:20 p.m. and she had completed her two-hour run down to the minute.

"That's the last of the fish, Emily. You can turn in now," said her driver.

"That's lovely. Thank you," said Emily. By now, she felt wonderful. To not have any mishaps with the fish and not having any accidents was quite an achievement for the Flying Kipper. Emily took her empty wagons back to the yards so they could be brought back to the docks in the morning, then made her way back to Tidmouth Sheds.

As Emily stopped on the turntable, she saw all the engines were asleep…and Henry had come back.

"I took your train, Henry," Emily whispered quietly. But Henry didn't stir or reply. He was in too deep a sleep to notice. Emily turned to Thomas' berth first and steamed up to him. Then she kissed his lips, waking him up. He was quite happy to see Emily back home.

"Hello, Tommy, and goodnight," whispered Emily.

"Welcome home, Emily. Goodnight to you too," yawned Thomas. Emily then went back on the turntable and turned to her own berth before she backed in.

"A good night's work for me. And I managed quite well," she whispered as she fell asleep with a smile on her face.

When the engines woke up the next morning, they all looked at Emily, still sleeping peacefully in her berth. She looked peaceful and untroubled. Henry did not know about her and the Flying Kipper yet, but he joined in with the other engines as they gave her a friendly wake-up.

"Good morning, Emily," the engines said together. Emily smiled as she opened her eyes and yawned.

"Good morning, my dears," she smiled. "I had a quite a good night's sleep after taking your train, Henry."

"I've been thinking about the Flying Kipper," said Henry. "Since I didn't pull it…who did?"

"I did, Henry," said Emily. "And I had no accidents. It's actually quite a simple job when you're careful."

"I've had my own share of safe trips with the Flying Kipper, Emily," said Henry. "I find it simple too." Then the Fat Controller arrived.

"Emily…your performance with the Flying Kipper last night was superb," he beamed.

"Thank you, sir," she smiled.

Thomas suddenly remembered. He was too tired the previous night to aske Emily about it. "That's right! I was wondering about that. So, Emily. What is it like taking the Flying Kipper?" he asked.

"It was actually quite nice taking a train through the night," said Emily. "It's peaceful and really useful. Actually, if Henry is willing to let me…I think I could take it again tonight if I could."

"Well, if you're willing to do that, it would give me a chance to rest. Thank you, Emily," said Henry.

"Well, Emily, if you wish to take the Flying Kipper once more, that's fine by me," said the Fat Controller. "I'll let you know what your runs are tonight." Then the Fat Controller left while the engines left to start their day's work.

All day long, as Thomas and Emily worked, they kept thinking about what might happen that night. Emily's first time with the Flying Kipper proved successful, but what would come next? Emily thought it would me mostly uneventful, but she also wondered if something could happen. An accident, something out of the ordinary, or something unexpected.

Eventually, Emily stopped at Elsbridge Station and met Thomas. "Hello, Thomas."

"Hello, Emily. Thinking about going fishing again tonight?" joked Thomas.

"I am, Thomas," said Emily. "I'm thinking about what might happen tonight…I really think this would be a decent job for me. In fact, Salty said I'm a fisherwoman with that train. You, Henry and James were all the fishermen who dealt with that train before, and since I'm taking it for now, I think it's a fitting term for me."

"Emily the Fisherwoman…" Thomas said to himself. "I think it works. Very fitting for you when you take that train."

"Thanks, Thomas," smiled Emily. "I'll be taking it again tonight." Then she and Thomas set off on their own ways until evening would come.

That evening, Thomas and Emily returned to Tidmouth Sheds again. The Flying Kipper would be ready soon, and Emily's mind was now rather occupied with thoughts and wonders. Then the Fat Controller arrived.

"Emily. I'm glad you're ready and waiting," said the Fat Controller. "The Flying Kipper will have yet another two-hour run, but there is a difference. Extra vans have been added to the train due to extensive orders of fish to send to the shops in town. You'll have to be careful, Emily. Those vans are old and a little weak. But Duck will be there to help you."

Thomas heard the Fat Controller and suddenly remembered warning Duck about fish that night with Henry.

"Old wagons? I'd take care if I were you, Emily," said Thomas. "The last time old, extra vans were added to the Flying Kipper, Henry needed Duck to push him up Gordon's Hill. But the tail lamp fell off the last van and Duck couldn't see the train. He rushed up behind and smashed the wagon open."

"I know that…but I'll be alright, Thomas," said Emily. "I can ask someone to really check the tail lamp carefully. And Duck is quite reliable."

"Hmm…whatever you say, Emily," sighed Thomas. "I hope you do well."

So Emily set off into the night to take the Flying Kipper again. When she arrived at the docks again, Cranky was already unloading the fish crates from the cargo ship and arranging them in her wagons. She looked along the line at her wagons…and then saw that Duck was here too. He had gathered four extra vans to add to the train. And indeed, they did look old, unused and weak, but they were all that could be found at this time.

Once Duck coupled the wagons to the Flying Kipper, Emily huffed up beside him.

"Ahh, hello, Emily," greeted Duck.

"Hello, Duck," said Emily. "I'm here to take the Flying Kipper again after my first run last night. I see you've found the extra vans."

"Yes, Emily. I did," said Duck. Then Emily remembered what Thomas said. "Duck…Thomas told me about when you and Henry had that accident because of a broken tail lamp…is it secure and tightly attached to the last van?"

"Yes, Emily," said Duck. "I made sure the workmen fixed it on properly." But then, Duck began to wonder about the weak vans. Even with a good tail lamp, the vans could still easily break and he didn't want Emily to go to any trouble as he heard the Fat Controller's words all those years ago and his own echo through his mind.

 _"The accident wasn't your fault. We should have checked to see that this tail lamp was fixed on properly. We'll soon have you in working order again."_

 _"Thank you, sir. Thomas told me to be careful about fish. They got me in a right pickle, didn't they?"_

Duck suddenly looked at Emily.

"What is it, Duck?" she asked.

"Emily…I remember that I was the banker engine who crashed into Henry that night…into the old vans…why don't I take the old vans myself while you take the main wagons on your own? I'd much rather prefer you being perfectly safe while I deliver some of the fish for you."

"Aww. Thanks, Duck," smiled Emily. "You're very kind to do that for me. I'll deliver fish to several of my assigned stations, and you can deliver the rest to the other stations after that."

Emily's driver briefly told Duck's driver the order of stations that ordered a delivery, then gave him some station names for Duck to deliver fish to.

"Right," said Duck. Once Cranky finished loading the fish, Duck carefully took the old vans back by himself while Emily coupled to the strong wagons by herself.

"Are you sure you'll be alright, Duck?" asked Emily.

"I just want you to be safe, Emily," said Duck. "And I'll be quite alright. You'll see." The guard showed the green lamp for Emily and she set off on her own. Then the guard showed the green lamp to Duck and he set off on his own line to make his own deliveries…

Once again, Emily was gliding along the line with the Flying Kipper. She felt quite safe indeed pulling the strong sturdy wagons of fish with no risk of the old vans breaking on her. As she made her deliveries, she was feeling pleased. She was enjoying the beautiful nighttime atmosphere around her like she did the previous night.

"Duck is very reliable," she said to herself. "And it seems to be going alright for me." But Emily remained a little alert just in case something might happen.

Duck wasn't as cheerful as Emily was feeling. As he huffed along his own line, the wagons creaked and shook behind him. With each delivery he made, he kept wondering what would happen should anything go wrong.

"Stay alert," he whispered to himself as he huffed on towards a junction of points.

"At least Emily won't be in danger if anything happens. Ladies first," said Duck.

But problems were lying ahead of Duck. There were a few workmen working on a signal with a burnt-out light. It wouldn't shine red or green. Only the arm was working properly, but it was too dark to see how it was set. The workmen were working hard to find the problem, hoping no engine would come along and increase the risk…until they heard a whistle.

"Oh no!" cried the workmen. Duck came huffing off his own line…out toward the main line. He looked up at the signal, but with no light and several trees obscuring his vision.

"There's no sign of a signal light," he whispered fanatically. He couldn't see how the arm was set…and he went right past it.

"Careful…careful…" he whispered…but then he heard another whistle coming up from behind.

"Oh no, it's Emily!" he panicked. Emily came huffing quickly along the main line. Duck whistled to warn Emily. She suddenly looked up with worry. She could see the tail lamp and the old wagons, and it was too late to stop!

"Ohh! Careful, Emily!" whistled Duck.

"Oh no!" cried Emily. "Whoa, Duck!" She huffed on towards the old wagon…and broke it open, inching a little inside it and sending fish hurtling into the air and splattering down everywhere! Duck lurched forward before he stopped and looked back in shock and worry. Emily was spinning her eyes around like pin-wheels.

No one was hurt, but a strong smell of fish hung in the air. There were fish all around the tracks, and several on Emily. The smell was much worse than she imagined being covered in fish.

"Duck? Duck!" She tried to call, but she sounded muffled. She tried calling again, still muffled. It felt like something was in her mouth…then she suddenly felt sick as she felt a nasty taste on her tongue. She looked down…and suddenly saw that a fish had popped halfway into her mouth! Emily, a steam engine had almost swallowed a fish! She immediately spat the fish out, purely disgusted at what just happened.

"Augh! Gargh! Bah! Pluh!" she gagged, still spitting a little more. In that moment, Emily was a little interested discovering the taste of raw fish, but also very disgusted. She thought it tasted even worse than it smelt. An unpleasant taste of something slimy, stringy, raw, salty, oily, and very strong was now stained in her mouth and on her tongue.

"Yech! Fish! Nasty-tasting creatures!" she cried. "What do people like about these…these…things anyway?"

Before long, Jerome and Judy were brought to clear away the broken wagon and most of the unspoiled fish were loaded into the remaining wagons.

"I'm so sorry, Emily," said Duck. "There was no light on the signal and I couldn't see how the arm was set."

"Don't worry, Duck. You couldn't see, and it was me who came by too soon," said Emily. "But…oh, goodness! I got a fish in my mouth!" Duck said nothing in shock as the last of the fish were loaded. Then Duck and Emily went their separate ways to deliver the rest of the fish.

About an hour later, All of Emily's fish were delivered. She left her trucks in a siding and set off by herself until she reached Wellsworth Station and relaxed. She was still feeling rather uncomfortable with what had happened and did not expect any of this. Emily looked up at the moon as she still focused on the fishy taste in her mouth. She was even shaking a little bit as she comprehended almost swallowing a fish. She had never heard of any other engine who had gone through such a thing,

"I don't want the other engines to find out what happened. They might start talking about it endlessly…oh, I can't believe I tasted fish…Hmm…maybe I should tell Thomas in the morning. He can help," she yawned. And Emily fell asleep right there, still with a bad taste in her mouth, quite literally.

In the morning at Tidmouth Sheds, Thomas woke up before the other engines just as the sun was rising and saw that Emily didn't come back.

 _"Hmm…what could have happened?"_ he thought. _"Did Duck collide with her like he did with Henry?"_

But suddenly, he looked out and he saw Emily coming back. He huffed across the turntable to see her, hoping she was alright. She didn't look very happy. Thomas was relieved that she didn't have an accident…but he thought he smelt something as he came closer to her.

"What's that?" he asked, sniffing the air. There was very faint smell of fish reaching his nose. Thomas buffered right to Emily, waiting for her to say something or for himself to speak up…

"How did it go, Emily? You didn't come back here last night," said Thomas.

"Not too well, Thomas," said Emily. "Duck and I got into a bit of a pickle." When she spoke, Thomas almost gagged from her very fishy breath.

"E-Emily? Why does your breath smell like fish?" he asked quietly.

Emily looked down for a moment before she spoke up again. "Please excuse the smell, Thomas…when I went to the docks, Duck volunteered to take the old wagons to keep me safe. I took the strong, sturdy wagons and went on my own while Duck took his own line. But then he came to a signal with a burnt out light. He couldn't see how the arm was set, so he just kept going. But then I came round the bend just as he was coming out…and the wagon burst open, sending the fish everywhere."

"Were you derailed again?" worried Thomas.

"No. It was worse. Much worse," said Emily. "Not only did I get covered in several fish…but…" she paused with her heart jumping inside her. "I tried calling out to Duck, but my voice was muffled. It turned out that…I had a fish…in my mouth."

Thomas almost choked when he heard that. Emily, his emerald angel and the most beautiful engine was now the first engine ever on the Island of Sodor to actually taste a fish.

"Cinders and Ashes, Emily!" he breathed. "You tasted fish! What was it like?"

"Ohh…it was interesting, but awful, Thomas! It was cold…slimy…raw…salty…oily, and very strong. Absolutely revolting! And that nasty taste is still on my tongue!"

Thomas felt sorry that Emily had gone through such an unpleasant experience. Getting fish stuck in his boiler was very terrible indeed, but tasting one was almost just as bad.

"Bless me, Emily! You can't enjoy the day with that taste in your mouth, or smelling like fish. I'll take you to the washdown at once!" Thomas buffered to Emily and took her along the line to the nearest water tower he could find.

After a while, he found a water tower with several workmen. Emily stopped right by it and Thomas watched her. Emily explained her situation and the workmen got to work, washing Emily off. The smell of fish soon faded from Emily as the fish oil slipped off her paintwork. She began to feel better as she was being cleaned again. But once she was fully clean, she noticed Thomas didn't buffer up to her right away.

"Thomas? Why am I still being left here?" asked Emily.

"I didn't just bring you here to be cleaned, Emily," said Thomas. "The workmen will help you wash your mouth out."

"Really?" said Emily. "I don't think any engine has done that before…"

"Well, if you just hold it in your mouth and don't swallow, that should be alright," said Thomas. One workman prepared the hose, and another workman placed a bucket on the line just in front of Emily.

"Open your mouth, Emily," said Thomas. "He's ready."

Emily obeyed Thomas and opened her mouth. The hose then sprayed into her mouth, filling it with cold, refreshing water. Then Emily closed her mouth and puffed up her cheeks, writhing the water left and right inside her mouth. Thomas thought she looked cute when she did that. Then Emily carefully opened her mouth once again, and gurgled, trying not to let any water out. Thomas chuckled as she did this, but some water still escaped from her mouth.

Emily then took aim and spat the water into the bucket in front of her.

"Did it work, Thomas?" asked Emily. "Let me breathe on you to be sure." Emily buffered to Thomas and gently sighed, letting Thomas sniff the air. He smelt nothing fishy at all. Instead, Emily's lovely fresh breath which he always loved to feel with its warmth.

"It worked perfectly, Emily," he smiled. "That's much better."

"Thank you, Tommy," said Emily. But suddenly, a funny idea came to Emily. Her breath was now fresh again…and before she started work, she thought of giving Thomas a little joke. She whispered something to the workman beside her, still holding the hose, and he nodded back. He then sprayed another round of water into Emily's mouth.

"Emily?" puzzled Thomas. "What are you doing? Your mouth is clean."

Emily held the water in her mouth for a few moments…until Thomas let off steam. As soon as that happened, Emily suddenly puffed up her cheeks and squirted a jet of water all over Thomas' face.

"Emily! Ahh! Whoo!" exclaimed Thomas before he started laughing as he felt the water hose all across his face. When the squirting stopped, he gaped at Emily with a smile, making her giggle in return.

"What did you spray me for?" he exclaimed.

"It was just a little joke," chimed Emily. "You were Henry…I was the elephant."

"Hmm…" smirked Thomas. He looked down at the workman who was holding the hose. The workman sighed, seeing what Thomas intended. He hosed Thomas' mouth too. Thomas held it in for a while…then sprayed Emily right back.

"What the...Thomas!" squealed Emily, laughing as she got soaked back by Thomas.

"Fair and square," teased Thomas. The workmen then dried their faces off and retrieved the bucket so the two engines could set off to start their work for the day.

"Oh, you ARE a scoundrel, aren't you?" said Emily. She kissed Thomas' lips and they both left the water tower to get to Knapford Station.

While Thomas and Emily's passengers boarded, they looked at each other with a smile, still thinking about what happened at the water tower.

"Well, Thomas," said Emily. "I think I'd like a break from the Flying Kipper for a while after last night. It was fun, but it can be a fishy situation indeed."

"Well, I think that's a good idea, Emily," said Thomas. "And…your lips are still as sweet as always, even after you almost made a meal of that fish."

Emily chuckled to herself as the guards whistle blew for both her and Thomas. They whistled to each other and set off on their own, both feeling quite content after Emily's experience as a fisherwoman.

* * *

So yeah, another story revolving around the infamous Flying Kipper. They really should just start calling it jinxed at this stage cause nothing good ever comes from it, it's caused far more harm than it ever has good. But that's why we love it oh so much. Next time we meet we'll be looking at what is surprisingly only my second Valentines-themed story since I started writing. Leave your reviews and I'll see you all next time with *Be My Valentine.*


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